Inside the main chamber of the Southern African Large Telescope building. The mirror is 11 metres wide, built from 91 hexagonal mirrors which can be removed for cleaning. The white area of the roof opens for viewing - both the roof and the telescope assembly rotate to position the telescope for viewing, but unusually the mirror does not track the sky during a viewing - instead the sensor assembly (top of the image) moves and focuses in order to see different parts of the sky.

The dome of the Southern African Large Telescope, with dish visible at the bottom of the image. The goalpost shaped metal columns are air-conditioning units, used to synchronise the internal temperature with the outside before observation begins.

Southern African Large Telescope - Dish and Roof

Inside the main chamber of the Southern African Large Telescope building. The mirror is 11 metres wide, built from 91 hexagonal mirrors which can be removed for cleaning. The white area of the roof opens for viewing - both the roof and the telescope assembly rotate to position the telescope for viewing, but unusually the mirror does not track the sky during a viewing - instead the sensor assembly (top of the image) moves and focuses in order to see different parts of the sky.